ehren kruger Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In today's requisite edition of "Nothing Is Sacred" news, it looks like David Cronenberg's cult classic, Videodrome, is the next remake to come a-callin'. Ehren Kruger, writer of the remake of The Ring, is penning this update to "modernize the concept, infuse it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller," according to Variety.

Okay, at the very least, there's quite the opportunity for some nifty and nasty effects work, but beyond that, I can't help but feel that today's potential for satire may be outweighed by today's potential for the grotesque. And reading the phrase "large-scale" almost makes me want to pop in the low-budget widespread panic of The Signal instead.

But let's play devil's advocate here: who would you cast in the anti-hero role that James Woods originated in '83? I'd bet that either Patrick Wilson or Sam Rockwell could pull it off -- aw, hell, if they really just throw up their hands at some point, Nicolas Cage could be fun...

You know, sometimes I just don't understand Hollywood. You have to wonder who's making the decisions at Paramount these days, because David Fincher's Eliot Ness flick has all the makings of a profitable little film for the studio, but the project has been wasting away at Paramount since 2006. So despite having an all-star cast, including Matt Damon as Eliot Ness, Casey Affleck and Rachel McAdams, the production just can't seem to get off the ground. Unfortunately, the bad news just keeps on coming, and Entertainment Weekly reports that time is running out for the film.

News of the flick first hit back in 2006, when it was reported that Fincher was working on an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis' graphic novel, Torso. Bendis' novel centered on, "a series of brutal murders that took place in the Cleveland area between 1935 and 1938, and were investigated by Ness, who was by then the Public Safety Director of Cleveland." There is still no confirmation on whether Fincher will be using Bendis' novel, but EW reports that Paramount has "...recently received a finalized script from Ehren Kruger (The Ring) and would make a decision before the rights ran out." (By the way, the rights run out on December 15th.)

Some news bites for you:

• Almost a year ago, Natalie Portman whipped up her own shingle and started to look into making Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness. She was hoping to get Jake and Maggie's mom, Naomi Foner, to pen it. Things have changed a bit since then, as Variety reports. The project is still in the works, but now Portman is planning to film it in the novel's original language -- Hebrew.
  
• If no one is making a documentary about your family, make it yourself! Variety reports that Ozzy's son, Jack Osbourne, is whipping up a documentary on his famous dad, with the help of mom Sharon. He says: "MTV couldn't show the darkness and so they used all the goofy things, but that's not really who he was at the time." He continues: "I want people to see John Osbourne as the guy I grew up with, the tormented, complex musician whose personal demons manifest themselves in so many crazy, unique ways."
  
• Ehren Kruger, who was the pen behind Transformers, is now looking to God, but in a more bloody and bad guy-filled way. Variety reports that he will adapt Boston Teran's God is a Bullet, which focuses on "the journey of a California lawman forced to go undercover to rescue his daughter from the ruthless gang of criminals who've abducted her." Let's hope big machines with bad dialogue don't enter the mix.
  

Sometime last month, a group of studio execs embarked on a top secret project that we're only just finding out about now. It was a pretty massive experiment -- something that's never been attempted or even talked about -- but they failed. It couldn't be done. Who knows if they'll ever try to clone writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci again, but for a minute there -- when the impossible seemed possible -- studio execs everywhere felt safe; they felt at ease. So now, it's onto Plan B -- bring in another writer (yes, they do exist!) to help churn out a script for Transformers 2. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Ehren Kruger has joined Kurtzman and Orci; he'll help the dynamic duo bust out a script faster than it takes a teenage boy to imagine a naked Megan Fox crawling underneath his covers at night*.

But it's cool, because Kruger has promised all those involved that he knows his transforming robots. And he's a good choice, if you forget about Scream 3, The Brothers Grimm and Reindeer Games -- he also penned The Ring and the very awesome Arlington Road. The reason why he's being brought in is because Kurtzman and Orci are mega busy as of late; not only are they rushing to complete the Star Trek XI script, but the three are also working on a serial-killer flick called Nightlife. Since they want everything completed before a potential strike, all three will have to write until their fingers bleed -- but for a deal that some are saying is worth between $5 million - $7 million, I'd write upside down, naked, with a little elf tickling me if I had to. HR also confirms that Shia LaBeouf will reprise his role in the sequel, with Michael Bay back behind the camera and producers Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Don Murphy assisting. Transformers 2 is currently eying a June 26, 2009 release date.

*I'm sort of sick of looking at those pictures of robots, so until we get some new shots, I'm sticking with this image up top of Megan Fox. Foxy!

Hollywood has many sources of ideas it can turn into movies. Some movies are original ideas that come from the mind of one or more screenwriters. A more recent trend is to adapt hit television shows of the seventies and eighties into films. Of course, one of the most popular places for Hollywood to get ideas is from books.

Adapting books for the screen has a great tradition in Hollywood and has given rise to some of the most popular and successful films of all time. In fact, many of the films that have won the Oscar for Best Picture have been adaptations -- including The Silence of the Lambs, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Gone With the Wind and the recent The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Another book that will attempt to continue this tradition and take its place among these previous adaptations is Jennifer Egan's supernatural novel The Keep. According to a recent article in Variety (via Sci-Fi Wire), rights to the novel were recently optioned by StillKing Films (who's credits include The Illusionist and Doom) and will be adapted for the screen by writer Ehren Kruger (of The Ring and the upcoming John Carter of Mars).

Kruger will also be producing the film, which centers around a woman who is trapped in a haunted castle where she is seduced by a mysterious prisoner, along with Daniel Bobker and StillKing Film's Matthew Stillman. Having Kruger handle the adaptation duties is a good move for StillKing. If they're able to attach a director and cast on the same level as Kruger, the resulting film just might live up to the tradition established by those highly successful prior adaptations. No word yet, however, on who that director or cast might be.

What do you think, does this film have a chance?

When he finishes Zodiac (currently filming, with Jake Gyllenhaal) and Benjamin Button (currently in development) for Paramount, David Fincher will continue to hang around the studio, this time directing a screen version of Torso, a graphic novel that details Elliot Ness' post-Capone stint as Cleveland's public safety officer. Torso was cowritten by Brian Michael Bendis, who has since gone on to a very successful mainstream comic career in such series as Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man.

The novel's story is a fascinating one - and it's true, too. While Ness was working in Cleveland, torsos started showing up in the city's river and, at the same time, Ness began to get taunting letters from the killer. Despite his total lack of background in police work, the former treasury agent was able to put together a team to track down and arrest the man. The screenplay is being adapted by Ehren Kruger, and Todd McFarlane (who originally option the property) is among the producers.

Needless to say, it'll be ages before we see anything from this one, but it sounds like an incredible story. Have any of you read the graphic novel? What's the visual style like?